Railway crossing gate



Aug. 9 1927.

I. A. MOORE girl AL {mum cmossme am:

Filed Dec. 5. 1924 4 Sheet-$81k 1 'anoehtozs F u w Aug. 9,1927

v 1,638,502 I. A. MOORE ET AL RAILWAY CROSSING GATE Filed-Dec. s. ,1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1,638,502 I. A. MOORE ET AL RAILWAY cnossme GATE Aug; -9 1927.

' Filed Dec. 5.1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 vweutoz Aug.

I. A. MOORE RAILWAY caossme GATE Filed Dec 3,

iuil 'll l m ni ll l 1,638,502; ET AL 1924 4 sheets-sheet .4

Patented Aug. 9, 1927. I i A w v i k V 1,538,502 "UNITED STATES PATENT oi-Flosi IRA A, noose Ann 'rfioliflis ivt. Eli, cams ftAi rhs', iowhg mews-Y "citos'sitir ease; Application filed iiee'einber 3,1924. Serial no. fsasm. I

This invention relates to movable barcoupleris provided with stop-screws 14 .to riers set at railway and street intersections, limit the swingof. the coupler with respect and desi 'nedto prevent accidents Lat such to .the rails, by abuttinglthemoiifthe under crossings. The object of this intention is sides. -Dependi-ng from the middle ofthe 60 5 to provide an efiicient safety gate which is coupler isan arm 715. to engage alswitchentirely antoii'iatic in its operation. lever 16, hereafter 'mo're specifically .me'n- The invention/is fully disclosed in the honed From a: bracket .17 which may be description andrclaims' following, reference a partof one of the links-,qa piston-rod. 18' being had to the accompanying drawings, depends, andat its. lower end connects with 65 10 i whi h; I o 7 apiston19 (Fig. 10), toibje hereafter more,

Fig. 1- is a sideelevation, illustrating our particdlarly,described. Between th h d improved gate as in use. Fig; 2 is'aa side f the oylinder 21- a collar on theJP elevation illustrating a wheel-operated elecrod is mounted-astrong lift-spring 22 to retric switch located some distance-back. from store the parts to nornm1'P tio11.;

-5 the street intersection. Fig. .3 is a similar It Will beeyident from Fig. Q/t i i View of the switch apparatus atthe inter: approaching the moyable a from" h f section. Fig. .4; is side elevation of. the Will first depress the; left rail until the mechanism for operating .the gate, a side or wing of the couple riis a'I 'BS by h g t door of the enclosing casebeing removed. hand abutmentscl'ew, when bot-lrrailswill 520 Fi 5 h w th i i l t f th descend togetheri The swing of the 'coupler same mechanism, a side. ofits frame being carries to the right the sWitchl6 9 ,;Q Si

removed. Fig. 6 shows the opposite sideof g' vr111 electric y 'l i be e p ne the mechanism shown in Fig. a. Fig. 7 is later, to actuate the gat os ng l l l$man elevation of the same as seen from the But W1th the tram. Q.V g the opposite right of Fig. 6, but with the gate removed. direct on the 11 6 fi ng r h i i lfl 8 shows parts of the gate mounting b'es i hve nd t e cilcuitat'fthis point is low the section line 8-8 'of Fig. 6. c Fig. 9 Qtf l P At hfi t t mv e a shows parts of the movable rail andja pr'o- Wl -LS IQ QCl by the train inoving in tecti've guard rail, in perspective. Fig. 10 elthel 0. so e rails 23,- y' h 39 is a vertical, sectional view of the switch i Q y th the P 'Od, as Y actuating mechanism at the intersection. QW- iI I 'g- ,r V c 11 is an elevation of the same as seen .A g a i S dl fi tt h o from the right side efFig. 10. Fi 12,is b se ves a n y.,to prot t ]lat er a vertical section, similar to Fig. 10, showfrom u i n y falling. cinders, coal, ing' the switch actuating mechanism, at one 'O T ma e i l that might g the 0"? of the approaches to the intersection; Fig.- ment of said rails ,7 p M I 13 is a fragmentarytransverse section of the Q11 afirm foundation is securely ansame at the right of the line 13 -13, Fig. 12. chored acaseor housing 26' adapted to en Fig. lat shows diagrammatically the wiring close the mechanism for operating the gate. f th S tQn V and to proteet it against vandalism or the Referring to Fig; 1, the numeral .5 deelements, In practice it is preferred to notes a passing railway car, .of whichwa' mount, the,gate;by;anaxis 2101i bearing wheel'6 serves as a prime mover of afswitch brackets 28 projecting from the case, i and f operating rail 7 (Fig. 2) and others that actuate. the gate by a segmental gear 29" will be described presently; 8 is the permameshing through one side of the, case with n'ent' track-rail. To it, on the inner side; a gear30 inside, carried by a Obthis rail 7 is pivoted at 9. The upper-face of violl'sly,mhowever, the I latter shaft may be the rail 7- is formed as a curve throughoht extendedlaterally, and itself carry the gate.

the most of" its length, so that when the The main advantage'in the monntingherein flange of the wheel 6 passes over it, however shown is thatit providesabearingeach side rapidly, the rail is 'd'e tn'essed without a s'udof the gate, which is of course desirable; A den shocle A companion rail 10 is similarly substantial frame; '32. carries the shaft 31, pivoted at 11. The pair of rails are conand also shafts 33, and 34. Tothe former pl'ed by a-niemb'er 12, hereafter referredto is attached a vgear 35,- and'to the other a as the coupler, connecting with the respecpinion 36 meshirig with the gear The Live rails by links 1?). Near each end the latter shaft also carries a worm-gear 37.en-.

above referred to.

gaged by a Worm 38 on the shaft of an electric motor 39. To the outer end of the shaft 33 is attached a crank 40, which connects by a link-rod 41 with a longer crank 42 secured to the shaft 31 The cranks are so proportioned that a half revolution of the shaft 33 will impart a quarter revolution to the shaft 31.

The motor-shaft is also provided with a brake-wheel 43, flanked by a pair of de-.

pending brake-shoes 44 pivoted at 45. The brake is held normally closed on the brakewheel by a tension spring 46 connecting the free ends of the brake-shoe arms. The brake is released by the spreading action of a pair of rollers 47 carried by a cross-head 48 attached to a rod 49 slidable in a support 50, and at the other end connecting with the core of a solenoid 51 mounted on the base of the frame. Current through the solenoid draws in the core, thus spreading the brake, and on thebreaking of the motor and solenoid circuit the brake acts instantly to stop the motor and the movement of the gate.

The gate, in practice, is formed mainly of four long bars 52, suitably connected at the outer end, and the inner ends attached to the arms 53 of a fourfold yoke 54. This is provided with an axis 55 carried by the bearing 56 of the partially geared member 29 On this axis is mounted a slidable cam 57 held by a compression spring 58 against a pair of rollers 59 carried by the yoke. A finger 60 extending from the cam is slidable in a groove 61 in the yoke, and prevents the cam from turning. This construction permits the gate to turn sidewise when depressed, so that in the event of a vehicle being caught between gates, it might back out, or go ahead, without injury to the gate or vehicle. WVhen swung either way, the cam and its spring restores the gate to normal position. v

The gate is adapted for warning, as well as a barrier, being provided in the middle with an arresting sign, such for example as, Stop, illuminated at night, and a warning light at each end.

A counterweight 62, adjustable on an arm 63 attached to the projecting axis of the gate serves to balance the structure, and so facilitates its movement from the normal vertical position to a horizontal position, and vice versa.

In the figures of the drawing, 10 to 14, the electrical apparatus is illustrated. Referring to Fig. 10, the numeral 64 denotes a closed receptacle for oil, and which 1s set in the earth at the road intersection at a point below the meeting of the movable rails. In this oil-tank is set a. cylinder, closed at the top and bottom. Through the cap at the top passes the piston-rod above referred to, and to itslower end 18 attached a valved piston 19, the valve 19 being held to normally closing position by a light spring 19 under the collar 20. This permits the piston to descend very quickly,-the Oll passing rapidly through ports in the piston. It can only return, however, by

providing an escape for the oil above it. For this purpose the cap is provided with a vent 65, which may be of the needle-valve type, for nice adjustment. As oil flows out through this vent it also flows in at the .bottom of the cylinder through a small hole 66. This is provided With a simple flap-valve 67, normallyv open, but closing under the downward plunge of the piston. The object of this construction is to retard the lift of the movable rails, both to prevent a premature breaking of the electric circuit, as will be explained presently, and the clatter and jar that would accompany the rising of these rails in the intervals between the overpassing wheels.

To the piston-rod is attached an arm 68 provided with an insulated contact stirrup 69. This normally lies in the open space between two angled terminals 70, but closes a circuit across them when the piston is a little depressed, and until the piston returns to normal position. This takes place after the last wheel has passed over the intersection and the gate has slowly risen to vertical position. r

The dash-pot device for the approaches is practically the same as for the intersection, but a different circuit-closer is provided. A pair of spring terminals, suitably insulated, is attached to one side of the oil-tank. A bridging brush-plate 72 is carried by a radial arm 73 attached to a rock-shaft 74 mounted in bearings 75. To this rock-shaft is connected the switch-lever 16 above mentioned. A swing of the depending arm 15 to the left (Fig. 12) closes the circuit. This switch remains closed until therail returns to normal position. F or this purpose the rock-shaft is provided with a shouldered collar 76, which is engaged by a hook 77 during the closing position of the radial arm. The hook is disengaged at. the proper time by a lifting finger 78 carried by the piston rod, and when the latter is near the upper limit of its movement. 4X spring 79 draws the hook to latching position, and another spring 80 holds the radial arm down to normal position, its downward movement being limited by stop-pins 81, in a manner so simple as to need no explanation.

Provision is made for closing and opening the circuit also by the movement of the gate through about ninety degrees of arc. To the shaft 31 is attached an insulating disk 82 provided with contact segments A, B and C, the first named having a central lobe A for continuous contact with a brush D, and its arcuate segment being in intermittent contact with a brush E. The other IOU , tion and or opened by simple plug switches X, Y and Z on an insulating block O. A socket S re-' ceives the current from its source Q, indicated conventionally in Fig. 14.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

Referring more particularly to Fig. 14, and assuming a train to be approaching the intersection from the left-the passing wheel closes the circuit at 71, as explained above. Current then passes through conductor a to the motor 39, thence through conductor a, contacts D, A, E and switch 71 back to the generator Q. This current is shunted through the branch line 0, 0, energizing the solenoid to release the motor brake. The motor now operates the gate mechanism to move the gate to the horizontal position, When the segment'A breaks contact with the brush E, and the motor stops. The brush Gr has then made contact with the segments 13 and C, when the passing train reaches the switch at the interseccloses it, current flows through a, a, a, G, C and D, and the motor operates to restore the gate to the vertical position. The light circuit, which in Fig. 14 is supposed to be open, is closed during the whole depressed position of the gate, the circuit being through e, e, lamps H.

It is to be noted that the approach switch 71 is held closed by the latch, as above described until the latch is released by the return of the movable rail and dash-pot piston to normal position. This insures the complete depression of the gate. Otherwise a single unit of the train, or a. short train, might first close, the switch, and passing it, the rail might lift and open the'switch before the gate reached the horizontal position.

B, C, and the The approach switches are supposed to be set at a greater distance from the intersection than the length of any train. Ii, however, a train should overlap both the approach and the intersection switches, the only effect would be to give continuous movement to the motor, and the gate would move slowly up and down.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In crossing-gate apparatus operable by an electric motor, switches in the motor circuit operable by rails depressed by a wheelflange, a pair of such rails, a coupling therefor provided with a fixed switch-operating lever, an oscillating switch engaging said lever on one side and a fixed terminal engaged by said switch as moved in one direction only, whereby the tilt of the coupler closes the switch by the depression of one rail, but not the other.

2. In a crossing-gate apparatus operable by an electric motor, switches in the motor circuit operable by rails depressed by a wheel-flange, a pair of such rails disposed in opposite directions, a coupler pivoted to each near the meeting ends, means to limit the tilt of said coupler, a lever depending from the coupler, and a switch-lever engaged by it on one side only, whereby the depression of one rail closes the switch in its first downward movement, but the switch is not closed by the corresponding movement of the companion rail.

3. In crossing-gate apparatus operable by an electric motor, amotor electric circuit, a

switch in such circuit, a wheel-depressible rail to close said switch, a latch to hold the switch closed until the rail returns to normal position, and means connecting with the rail to restore it to normal position, and to re lease said latch- In testimony whereof we affix our signatures.

IRA A. MOORE. THOMAS M. ELY. 

